A CALL TO ARTISTS! Calling all Boricua Artists for a Fund
Raising CD to aid our Puerto Rican Political Prisoners!!

The Welfare Poets and The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign have come together to
collaborate on a fund-raising project to directly aid the current Puerto
Rican Political Prisoners; incarcerated for fighting for the independence
and self-determination of Puerto Rico. Additionally, we would also want to
assist past political prisoners who have been freed and are now attempting
to survive in a system where many channels are closed to them. It is also
our intention to create a general legal fund to assist present and even
possibly future political prisoners.

We are directing this posting to local bands and world renown Puerto Rican
artists who have the eye of the music world. Depending on how many artists
come forward and who actually submit songs, there is a po-tential for us to
get funds so distribution can be created on a larger scale.

Regarding Song Submissions:
�We have begun accepting submissions.
�All submissions and questions about submissions can be sent to:FreedomAlbum@...
�We want all artist of all genres to be apart of this potentially monumental
album for Freedom -- Bomba, Plena, Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Salsa, Jibaro,
Regggae, Punk, Rock or any other form of music
�Songs do not need to be directly about the political prisoners and the
struggle for Puerto Rico's Indpendence, although we definitely won't
discourage you to do so. For the most part, they should be uplifting and
somehow connected to our people, island, culture and history.

Goal:
�We hope this album serves to raise the necessary funds as outlined above,
but also to unify the Puerto Rican community on many levels. Unifying Puerto
Rican artists from NYC, Chicago, California, Philadelphia, New Jersey and
all over the Puerto Rican Diaspora, with each other and other artists from
the island � all coming together under the banner of supporting those who
have sacrificed everything for the liberation of Puerto Rico.

�We also hope to unify organizations in an attempt to move forward on better
grounds on behalf of the companeros.

�Not only will we be spreading the word about the Puerto Rican Political
Prisoners' existence and indi-vidual cases to a wide range of individuals
open their eyes for the first time or updating those who are already in the
know, but we will also be offering the people a way to assist, all people
who support the struggle for our companeros release, Puerto Rican and
beyond.

To Organizations:
�We call on other organizations to help put this album together. There is so
much to be done and time is most precious. Collectively, our efforts can
reach the necessary millions to make a significant impact. These are our
prisoners, they remain in jail and isolated due to our collective inaction
and we can rem-edy this. To endorse thie effort, please email us atfreedomalbum@...

For information:
�About the Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and the ProLibertad Freedom
Campaign, go to: www.ProLibertadweb.com or
myspace.com/freeourpolitcalprisoners; about the Welfare Poets, go to
www.welfarepoets.com

Log on to myspace.com/freeourpolitcalprisoners for future information
regarding the project and planning meetings

The fight for Puerto Rico's Independence go as far back as indigenous
resistance to Spanish occupation. For well over 500 years, countless and
nameless individuals have fought for our islands sovereignty. Some have paid
the ultimate price with their lives.

Others have been held captive, arrested against their will, by a court which
held no jurisdiction over their cases and tramples on their international
right to fight for the lib-eration of their homeland, our homeland, Puerto
Rico. The Puerto Rican people have been able to free many of our political
prisoners. We did so because we created unity amongst ourselves and because
we welcomed the solidarity of all our allies. This Freedom Al-bum is another
example of our creativity in building solidarity and unity amongst
ourselves.

This album will educate, agitate and help further build our movement to free
our compa�er@s behind the walls.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Our Political Prisoners are:

Oscar Lopez Rivera was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico on January 6,
1943. At the age of 12, he moved to Chi-cago with his family. He was a
well-respected community activist and a prominent independence leader for
many years prior to his arrest. Oscar was one of the founders of the Rafael
Cancel Miranda High School, now known as the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High
School and the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center. He was a
com-munity organizer for the Northwest Community Organization (NCO), ASSPA,
ASPIRA and the 1st Congregational Church of Chicago. He helped to found
FREE, (a half-way house for convicted drug addicts) and ALAS (an
educa-tional program for Latino prisoners at Stateville Prison in Illinois).

He was active in various community struggles, mainly in the area of health
care, employment and police brutality. He also participated in the
development of the Committee to Free the Five Puerto Rican Nationalists. In
1975, he was forced underground, along with other comrades. He was captured
on May 29, 1981, after 5 years of being persecuted by the FBI as one of the
most feared fugitives from US "justice". Oscar, who has a daughter named
Clarissa, is currently serving a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy
and other charges. He was convicted of conspiracy to escape along with Jaime
Delgado, (a veteran independence leader), Dora Garcia, (a prominent
community activist) and Kojo Bomani-Sababu, a New Afrikan political
prisoner.

Oscar was one of 13 Puerto Rican political prisoners offered some form of
leniency by the Clinton Administration in the fall of 1999. According to the
Chicago Sun Times, he "declined the president's offer, which still would
have him left with 10 years to serve on conspiracy to escape charges. Now he
faces at least 20 more years in prison. His sister, Zenaida Lopez, said he
turned the offer down because he would be on parole. 'Accepting what they
are offering him is like prison outside of prison,' she said. Zenaida Lopez
said her brother 'was in total agreement' with the decision of the 11 others
to take the conditional clemency." Oscar is presently in prison in Terre
Haute, Indiana and his release date is 7/27/2027.

Carlos Alberto Torres was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on September 19, 1952.
His parents moved to New York, finally settling in Chicago. He studied in
the University of Illinois in Carbondale and Chicago. He studied sociology
at Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Carlos Alberto was involved in the struggles to recruit more Latin@s to the
University, against racism, and police abuse. Carlos was one of the founders
of the Rafael Cancel Miranda Puerto Rican High School now known as the Dr.
Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School and participated in the
Committee to Free the 5 Nationalists. In 1976, Carlos was forced to go
underground and was on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. He was captured along
with other comrades and sentenced to 78 years on charges of seditious
conspiracy, among other charges.

Although the Clinton Administration offered clemency to 12 Puerto Rican
political prisoners in the fall of 1999, no leniency was granted to Carlos
Torres, whom prosecutors described as a leader of the Fuerzas Armadas de
Liberaci�n Nacional (FALN), an underground organization which fought for
Puerto Rico's independence in the 1970s and '80s. His release date is 2024.
He is currently in prison in Oxford, Wisconsin.

Haydee Beltran Torres was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico on June 7, 1955. When
Haydee was 12 years old, her parents moved to Chicago. At Tuley High School,
she organized a boycott that demanded the firing of a racist principal.
Haydee attended the University of Illinois where she was an outspoken
defender of Latino students� rights. Haydee was forced underground in 1976
and was captured April 4, 1980. She has been sentenced to life in prison on
charges including seditious conspiracy. Haydee was the first POW to receive
a life sentence. She was kept in total isolation from the other prisoners of
war and was transferred to a special control unit which limited visits. It
was a year before she was allowed to see her family.

At the MCC in Chicago, she was classified as �no visitors allowed�. Haydee
was subject to physical abuse in interrogations for refusing to implicate
her comrades in unfounded crimes. This was done several times by FBI and
other government agents. These and other inhumane acts by the U.S.
government have led to serious injuries which prison medical directors have
misdiagnosed; also, Haydee has received injections of unknown medications.

JOSE IS CURRENTLY IN A HALF WAY HOUSE IN PUERTO RICO FOR THE REMAINDER OF
HIS SENTENCE!! Jose Perez Gonzalez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on January
14th, 1968; he is the son of a butcher and his mother is retired government
worker. He is married with three children. He is well known in his
neighborhood, of Barrio
Segundo in Ponce.

He is a family man with three children. He was a civil disobedient and
served three months in jail for his support activities. Jose was the only
member of the Vieques 12 who went to trial. He was found guilty and was
sentenced to five years in jail. His release is 1/17/2008.